Hahah.. This is a funny thread. Waaaa.. 4 hr wait? The wait line for Shambhala Music Festival 2011 on opening day was about +/-12hrs. Sure it's not the dessert.. but it was still 33C (91.4F)... so still pretty hot out. You have to embrace the situation you are in and turn it into a good time.

It would be better if the had a place to line everyone up in a field and took one line at a time (kind of like a ferry line up.) The benefit of doing this is so you can leave your vehicle or nap and not loose your place in line (just as long as your ready to move when you line starts moving.) It's also better for the environment because everyone's vehicles is turned off. Drop your awnings for shade... find some new friends and play frisbee or boche ball. The people at the gate are also looking for weapons, and people with large amounts of drugs.. so I respect there effort, because they have to deal with 50K pissed off people who just want to set up camp. Ya, some of them are assholes, but lots of us are assholes too.

Either volunteer and help, or suck it up and don't let your bad attitude ruin everyone elses.

@ Remi.... Don't know what the Shambala thing is that you refer to, but that's not the event I'm referring to here. As someone who has attended the Burning Man event since 2004 I have seen the attendance to this event increase year over year (with the exception of 2008 due to the recession). So as the event surpasses 50k people the entrance and exit for vehicles becomes even more critical. There can be ways of better managing the traffic, and the BMORG is aware of this. As I also indicated in my original post, the will call situation can be dramatically improved by providing accurate information on both JRS and the official website. One source said it would be on the left side while the other said the right. Also, there were no will call signs indicating where it was located until you reached the inspection station and the will call area. Bad planning (if planning is even the correct word here). The road was also in terrible condition upon leaving the event on Sunday and Monday. So there could have been some maintenance done to smooth things out.

While this is an open forum and your comments are always welcome, I don't really need to be told to suck it up or volunteer by you as that really isn't helping to improve the situation. Some suggestions on ways to improve the experience are really much more constructive.

From past experience, this last year was far and away the worst. The weather was not a factor, infrastructure design and excessive inspection processes were. We can do better than this and I for one hope they get it right next year.

remi wrote:Hahah.. This is a funny thread. Waaaa.. 4 hr wait? The wait line for Shambhala Music Festival 2011 on opening day was about +/-12hrs. Sure it's not the dessert.. but it was still 33C (91.4F)... so still pretty hot out. You have to embrace the situation you are in and turn it into a good time.

Either volunteer and help, or suck it up and don't let your bad attitude ruin everyone elses.

+ad infinitum

Kimo wrote: The road was also in terrible condition upon leaving the event on Sunday and Monday. So there could have been some maintenance done to smooth things out.

You mean.. like.. hot and dusty? Didn't see it looking any different than it usually does after 55k people go both ways on it. Let me get that DPW grader right over there and scar the playa even more with some grading action so you have an extra smooth surface out.

Kimo wrote: We can do better than this and I for one hope they get it right next year.

Unless you have a better way of stuffing a bowling ball through a hole the size of a golf ball, it is what it is. Suck it up, keep it in perspective, sit down, shut up and drink the gat' damn kool-aid.

lucky420 wrote:Did anyone see the dumbass who didn't put the big roll up door back down after gate inspection? Seems the gate guys didn't pull it down and she was so excited she didn't notice. As she was rolling past greeters her stuff was falling out of the budget rental truck...pack of PBR, silver window cover,etc...

Ha that was me I am such a ms. magoo sometimes. Thank you to the people honking to let me know and for picking my stuff up for me and a big thank you to the gate person who jogged that pack of PBR back to me.

Kimo wrote:While this is an open forum and your comments are always welcome, I don't really need to be told to suck it up or volunteer by you as that really isn't helping to improve the situation. Some suggestions on ways to improve the experience are really much more constructive.

No, a bunch of people bitching is not particularly constructive. For instance, the Will Call issue you like to talk about. Obviously this was noticed. I seriously doubt there's any point at all in telling Gayte they need to do a better job of letting everyone know where Will Call is.

Complaining about larger issues, like how long the wait is and the manner of searching (let alone the observed attitude of particular Gayte volunteers) is also not helpful. There are a lot of people who are trying really hard, YEAR ROUND, to make the Gayte efficient and effective. You may have no idea why they do things they way they do, how many ideas they've gone through, tried, tested, rejected, attempted to implement only to find they were impossible, etc.

You're sitting on your high horse playing Monday morning quarterback and it's totally useless. Gayte isn't hard to get into. Since you appear to be totally unwilling to try to actually put the effort into making something better, you can hardly be surprised that people tell you to stop whining.

I'm not making much of a leap when I confidentiality assume that Gayte, as well as all the other departments, probably have all their "brainstorming" and "negative feedback" needs met.

You're part of the solution, part of the problem, or part of the landscape.

Crap like complaining that the road wasn't in good enough condition for your exodus just proves how out of touch with actually running a functional Gayte you actually are.

But I do appreciate your thread, it gave me something to rant about on a Tuesday. Thanks for that!

ZaphodBurner wrote:The difference between buying a ticket from a scalper and prostituting yourself for one is, if you suck dick for a ticket and brag about it, burners will still respect you.

First off I pack the van so everything can be seem.. Just switch to lights on and open the door.. Had to smile when the gate keeper wanted to look under the rear deck.. It's a VW rear engine.. The stuff compartments are shallow so I don't have to dig for things and are easy to inspect.

Second, the trailer is pack/loaded so everything is in the open.. Put a cargo net over the whole thing so there is no fly away moop..

Next, put a smile on your face an give the other guy a break.. He may need to change lane or get into your line.. Give some one a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or some thing to drink.. crank on some dance tunes.. Non driver get out abd preform for us..

Fuck we are on our way to the worlds biggest party.. Quityourbitchen.

On the way out a person rear ended the trailer.. They saw a car three cars ahead of me move.. Didn't hurt the trailer, fucked up there new Rave.. Guy got out to circle check his load.. 30 seconds.. Some asshat tried to go through the road side tape/ribbon and scraped his nice paint ob on a fence post..

It's your fault if you turn your time into shit.. Learn to play nice with others

so, Gayte should just "pass" someone, who packed their car like a sardine can, knowing it'd be searched (veteran burners know this, or, anyone who reads and comprehends info regarding attendance and entry).yeah, because, we know, if you can't or won't pack for inspection, you'd never try to sneak someone in. Gayte is there, to make sure, "we" abide by the rules and conditions, set out by BLM, et al, for the use permit.

you wanna get in quick, get inspected fast? try having your shit ready to be inspected! Yeah, every year, stowaways are found. And yeah, some are missed, too. You rolls the dice, you takes your chances.

Will Call on the wrong side? how, does it matter which side it's on?and, we were letting people cross, at "point", from any lane, anyway.and, since there was always a filled queue for Gate itself, and inspection thereon, holding folks at Point so others could cross did not slow the line, in the least.

Yup, the bottleneck is the inspection process.........So what?

We have no control over anyones ability to pack, pack well, or be ready for the inspection, that they know well in advance, is coming.

And, copping attitude, does not help.Or, "oohh, you can't search there, I had such a hard time packing it, I don't want to re-do that" is not helpful.you knew you would be inspected. you have to know, if you make it difficult, it will take longer. And, you have to know, just because you smile pretty or show us your junk, we must do our job.

I know some, truly, show up not knowing of "the process".........how, I'm not sure, but I'm sure of it.But, the vast majority, know there is inspection/search at the gate, and unless total Dolts, have to know if they make it difficult, it will take longer.........

But, then agian, there are those who drive outside the lines, and when stopped say: "But, I'm in a hurry and or have to pee, and, I know Larry Harvey".........

I've loaded my little car 5 times now, and was happy to get the doors closed. Are there tips for best way to pack for inspection? make water visible? make door open easily and stuff not tumble out? seems like it's a good opportunity to ask what the best way is, if we ought to know better.

Kimo wrote:While this is an open forum and your comments are always welcome, I don't really need to be told to suck it up or volunteer by you as that really isn't helping to improve the situation. Some suggestions on ways to improve the experience are really much more constructive. .

I could have probably ended the post before that final comment (even though you seem to have enough idea's that you'd be a valuable volunteer at the front gate), however, I did my part by adding a suggestion to help improve the experience..

"It would be better if the had a place to line everyone up in a field and took one line at a time (kind of like a ferry line up.) The benefit of doing this is so you can leave your vehicle or nap and not loose your place in line (just as long as your ready to move when you line starts moving.)"

I just don't think 4 hours is that long of a wait when you consider the volume of people trying to enter one place at one time.. while security has to keep the event safe. I do agree that there is always room for improvement.. and from what I've read, its just a couple basic things that I'm sure they'll improve on next year.

I agree Remi. I would wait in line for 10+ hours if it was necessary. But this year seemed to be the worst by far than any previous years as many have indicated (especially under ideal weather conditions).

Won't lose any sleep over it and will be back next year. But yeah, I'd rather be in camp or on the playa than sitting in a vehicle. I will arrive with a different attitude next time and make the most of it.

One year I was that guy who had a pick up truck FULL in the rear cab and the shell was packed so tight I couldn't get it closed all the way. Bikes strapped everywhere. I roll up to Gayte and the look incredulous. Two people glance at the back, then call a third guy over.

I turn off the motor, hop out of my truck, offer them a cold PBR and say "Hey, I'm finally here. We can take as much time as you guys want, I'm just happy to be done with that drive." I started undoing the bikes so I could open the back so I could unpack the metric shitton of crapola there so they could see I didn't have any bodies.

They ended up just sticking their hands in through all the windows, doing a few other pokes and prods, and clearing me to go.

It all took about 10 minutes. I was ready for at least an hour.

I don't know if they were Jedi mind readers, if they didn't care, if they figured out a way to insure there were not stows, or if they just liked my attitude. Regardless, I was happy to be there and would have been stoked to hang out with Gayte people for an hour or three. Maybe next year I'll try something like that again, and see if I get more black on black time.

Kimo wrote:I agree Remi. I would wait in line for 10+ hours if it was necessary. But this year seemed to be the worst by far than any previous years as many have indicated (especially under ideal weather conditions).

Won't lose any sleep over it and will be back next year. But yeah, I'd rather be in camp or on the playa than sitting in a vehicle. I will arrive with a different attitude next time and make the most of it.

See you there!

I know I gave you crap just a post ago, but you might have just won the thread.

ZaphodBurner wrote:The difference between buying a ticket from a scalper and prostituting yourself for one is, if you suck dick for a ticket and brag about it, burners will still respect you.

Yeah, I'm not sure how you are going to pull them over from lines in the middle... Plus it puts the gate person who's leading the damn thing in danger. I suppose you could just tell them to pull over without escort, but that seems like a disaster in the making, too.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

skibear wrote:How about RV's and trailers in 4 right lanes and autos only in 2 left lanes or something like that. At least those in autos can keep moving through at a quicker pace? Just saying.

I like this idea, however, I believe it will only benefit the car line up if people in smaller cars don't pack them so full that they become difficult to search.

I think it's equally important for everyone to try and pack everything so it's easy to search (which is hard when your dealing with limited space.) Whenever I go to a festival, I bring my big pick up truck and a big trailer. I also offer to take all my friends bikes and any big items they may have so there vehicles are easy to search. I make sure when packing to leave room for security to search my vehicle by leaving a small pathway in the trailer. I've personally have never taken more then 5 minutes to be searched (I might just be lucky because I always smile and act very polite while being searched.) That combined with keeping chipper is pretty much the most anyone can do from our side. The rest lays in the logistics of the searches and the attitudes of the security personnel...

unjonharley wrote:I see a lot of finger pointing at RV's and large loads.. That's a load of crap..

Some cars are loaded in such a mess that the driver can hardly fit into it..

Maybe the gate keepers could direct loads that need extra to a turn out.. Then have a "team" check them out..

Like the guy that has to unload bicycles to look in the trunk.. Or unload fifty sleeping bags from the back seat to see if there is a stowaway.. And the overloaded trailer/Rv..

+1000

Our RV took all of 2 minutes to search this year. Lumping large vehicles into a slower line just because they are large seems counterproductive. Seems like I saw far more tightly packed small to medium sized vehicles.

Although we found the RV to be a waste and will be in a box truck next year, we will again pack it in a way that is easily searched.

Savannah: I don't know what it is, but no thread here escapes alive. You'll get 1 or 2 real answers at minimum, occasionally 10 or 12, and then we flog it until it's unrecognizable and you can't get your deposit back.

We pulled up to gate at the peak open times,we were fully loaded in a small van and a old pop up trailer. Both packed full. The two gate folks spent less the 4 min. Barley even searched either vehichle. We had great time in line. Waiting 5 hours was not bad.

Best part was when we were one car from the gate guys and the car in front died and after we tried to jump him,this guy in one of those mexican wrestlers mask and underoos comes up and starts tell HIS gate crew what to do..All the gate peeps were wearing the usual black but the boss man was a 1/2 naked wrestler..

I'm the one that has to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life, the way I want to ...Jimi Hendrix

Specific suggestion, if it works for you, pack as much as you can in smaller than human size containers. That would be plastic bins and duffels.

I like the idea of dividing the lines into hard to inspect trucks. large trailers, medium to inspect RV's, easy to inspect (or whatever makes sense from experience) and will call when there is 1 or two lanes, before it divides into 6-8. Then gate can shift people around/ fill empty ferry parking lines to manage the speed of each.

We just need to all bust across the playa towards BRC at the exact same time from the line. They cant stop all the thousands of cars so a few dozen people will get arrested and everyone else will make it in. Booya! Where is my problem solvers badge?

Make HUGE art, get in early. my wait time about 30 seconds for someone to realize someone had pulled up.

Clean up and leave late, only saw one other car on way out on Wed.

Exactly!!!!! You want creative ways to beat the line? GET CREATIVE! I havn't been in one in 3 years. Why? Cuz i help set up a theme camp and also produce art projects on the playa. This gets me early arrival passes. And I don't leave till Tuesday. That's it.